Remember Me This Way
by SillyRabbit03
Summary: After graduation, the trio go their separate ways. Prepared or not, Lizzie is alone in the real world. Will she be able to make it?
1. Graduation

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Lizzie McGuire. If in fact I do find something I own, I'll be sure to let you know. Kapeesh?

"Remember Me This Way"

Chapter 1: Graduation

Lizzie McGuire tugged at her gown nervously as she waited to hear her named called. It was her high school graduation, and being notorious for her clumsiness, she prayed she wouldn't trip while walking up onstage to accept her diploma. That was the last thing she needed.

"David Zephyr Gordon." Lizzie looked over at Gordo and smiled, giving him a thumbs up. He smiled back and made his way to the stage. She twirled a lock of hair around her index finger as she listened to the names of her fellow students. Her best friend Miranda Sanchez was seated beside her, looking boredly around the auditorium. 

"Elizabeth Brooke McGuire." Miranda squeezed her hand excitedly. Lizzie grinned at her, then proceeded carefully to the stage. 'Watch where you walk! Don't trip! Don't trip! Keep smiling! Don't trip!' she thought as she walked.

Lizzie accepted her diploma and made her way off the stage, her eyes roaming over the crowd of students who'd already received their diplomas, sitting behind the ones who were still waiting. She spotted Gordo, and rushed over to sit beside him. 

"Did you see me, Gordo? I didn't trip or anything!" Lizzie let out an excited squeal. Gordo gave her a pointed glance, and her hand flew to her mouth in hopes that her remark hadn't echoed throughout the quiet auditorium. "Oops! Anyway. . . Miranda's right before Kate. . . I bet she's pissed. . . you know she likes to look like the first and best. She's going to hate following in Miranda's footsteps, so to speak," Lizzie said quietly.

"She'll get over it. She's gotta stop being a witch sometime, doesn't she?" Gordo joked. Lizzie giggled.

They turned their attention back to their classmates and Lizzie started fidgeting in her seat after a few minutes. 

"What's wrong, McGuire?" Gordo asked.

"My butt's numb. . ." she replied. Gordo let a small laugh escape. 

"Well, it's gonna have to be numb for a while. . . they're only on the R's, and we can't just up and leave as soon as they call Miranda's name. . . the entire ceremony is probably only about half over," he said. Lizzie groaned inwardly. They'd already been there for two hours!

"If I'd known graduation was going to be this boring, I'd have flunked a year to avoid it for a while," she said, only half-joking.

"Miranda Isabella Sanchez." Lizzie and Gordo grinned at each other as they watched their best friend accept her diploma, then turn to the crowd and give a thumbs up. Lizzie looked around and saw Miranda's parents, as well as Gordo's and her own, snapping pictures. Miranda walked offstage, then hurried over to sit by them. 

"You guys have no idea how bored I was over there, waiting for them to call my name!" she hissed. Lizzie giggled. "My butt's been numb for the past half hour. . . how much longer is this going to last? I need to get up and do some butt exercises!" she joked.

The ceremony finally ended almost an hour and a half later, and the three teenagers were all too glad to jump up and cheer with the rest of their class. Suddenly, everyone was hugging everyone, and congratulations were heard all over the place. Lizzie fought her way through the huge crowd of people, searching for her parents. She found them waiting for her by the door of the auditorium.

"Congratulations, honey! You're all grown up!" her mother exclaimed, sweeping her daughter into a hug and kissing her cheek. Lizzie grinned and looked at her when they separated. Tears glittered in her eyes as she looked over her daughter, who had somehow turned into a stunning young woman in what seemed like no time at all. 

"Thanks, mom," Lizzie said, hugging her mother again. Then she turned to her dad and fell into his arms, hugging him tightly, also. "Congratulations, baby," he whispered. "Thanks, daddy," Lizzie whispered. She let go of him and then pulled her brother into an embrace, which made her mother cry even more. There was nothing in the world that made Jo McGuire more proud than her children.

"Mom, do you mind if I go with Miranda and Gordo to the Digital Bean to celebrate? I'll be home later, I promise, but we want to go celebrate together." Lizzie looked pleadingly at her mother. Jo smiled at her.

"Of course, honey. Go ahead. We'll have a family celebration tomorrow," she said. Lizzie hugged her family again, then rushed off to find Miranda and Gordo.

A/N: First chapter done! It wasn't the most exciting, but it's just a start. Click the button to review! Chapter two coming soon. . .

Silly Rabbit


	2. Summer Vacation, Finally

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own LM. . . in the event that I obtain ownership, I shall let you know, okiedokie? Okiedokie.

"Remember Me This Way"

Chapter 2: Summer Vacation, Finally

"I thought this day would never come!" Miranda stretched, leaning over to shake Lizzie. Gordo let out a yawn.

"Miranda, it's not even ten in the morning yet, on the first day of summer vacation. Go back to sleep," he muttered, closing his eyes again.

"I don't know about you, but I want to enjoy every minute of my last summer of freedom!" Miranda exclaimed, jumping up.

The trio had returned to Lizzie's house after celebrating their graduation with other classmates at the Digital Bean, and Miranda and Gordo wound up spending the night.

"Miranda, I don't think one more hour is going to matter." Lizzie's voice was muffled by the pillow she was laying facedown on. Miranda made a face. "Suit yourself. I'm going to use your shower," she said, leaving her two best friends to sleep more.

When Miranda finished her shower, she made herself comfortable on the McGuire's couch and turned on the TV. She turned the volume up to an almost offensive level and giggled to herself when she saw Gordo try to pull the pillow out from under Lizzie's head, to cover his own. Lizzie reached over and hit his arm lightly, without even opening her eyes. 

"Miranda!" came Gordo's disgruntled complaint. 

"Turn it down!" Lizzie groaned.

Miranda upped the volume on the set a bit more, causing the two still forms on the floor to sit up. Lizzie was laying right next to the TV, and reached over to turn the volume down. "You win, you evil, evil person," she said groggily, rubbing sleep from her eyes. 

"Speak for yourself." Gordo flopped back down on his pillow and closed his eyes yet again.

"I think not!" Lizzie said indignantly, reaching over and yanking the pillow from under his head. His eyes flew open, and he glared at her. 

"Okay, okay. I'll get up." 

Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda spent the early portion of their first day of vacation just enjoying having nothing to do. They went to the lake to swim for a while, lounged in Lizzie's living room and watched a movie, and even played a couple games of Scrabble. Gordo and Miranda left in the late afternoon, and Lizzie's parents decided to invite their family and closest friends over to have a little celebration for Lizzie's graduation. She only hoped that none of her annoying cheek-pinching aunts came over.

Later that night, after her house was once again quiet and free of those who didn't live there, Lizzie called Miranda and Gordo on three-way.

"So, what all do we want to do this summer, anyway? It's our last summer of freedom before the real world. We've got to make it the best," Miranda said.

"We should take a road trip. . . go camping in the mountains or something. Y'know what I mean?" Lizzie asked.

"Camping? Um, yeah, any other suggestions? Camping is gross. Sleeping in a tent, with no electricity, bugs everywhere, wild animals everywhere. . ." Miranda let out a disgusted sound.

"Good point. Besides, there's no mountains around here. Not close enough for us to go to, at least. What else is there?" Lizzie asked.

"We could go to Los Angeles. . . there's a ton of stuff to do there, and we could get a hotel room for a few nights and check out the big city," Gordo suggested.

"Ah! That's an awesome idea!" Miranda exclaimed.

"Sweet!" Lizzie said.

The conversation carried on late into the night until they had it all planned out. They'd leave on Friday morning (it was Wednesday) and drive to Los Angeles, get a hotel room, and spend the weekend checking out everything LA had to offer. Lizzie hung up the phone at nearly three o'clock in the morning and immediately climbed in bed to try and get some sleep. 

A/N: I know it's kind of boring right now. . . I'm trying to get this going, but I'm not entirely sure of how exactly I want it to go. I'm trying! Not much to go on, but let me know what you think so far! Review!

Silly Rabbit


	3. Road Trip

DISCLAIMER: It's really hard to come up with something witty to say for every chapter. . . lol But I own nothing!

Chapter 3: Road Trip

Lizzie awoke Friday morning feeling excited. The numerals on her alarm clock read 7:34. That left her enough time to shower and check over what she'd packed, before Gordo picked her up. They'd decided to take his Jeep, since Lizzie and Miranda had small cars that weren't very suitable for a six-hour road trip.

Since Lizzie's house was on the way to Miranda's from Gordo's, he stopped by the McGuire residence first. Lizzie toted her suitcase out to the Jeep, while Gordo looked on incredulously. "Lizzie, we're going to be there for three days! Is that thing full?" he asked.

"Yeah. Gordo, you'd never understand. It's a girl thing," Lizzie explained, hoisting the large piece of luggage into the back of the Jeep and then slamming it shut. She ran back into the house and retreated within a minute or so, her purse slung over her shoulder. 

"Ready?" Gordo asked. Lizzie nodded. "Let's go get Miranda!" she exclaimed.

They stopped at Miranda's house and Gordo just shook his head as Miranda walked out to the Jeep, a suitcase almost as big as Lizzie's rolling behind her on four small wheels. Lizzie got out and helped Miranda put it in the back, and the two girls hopped into the Jeep. 

"Okay, guys. . . let's lay down some ground rules here, okay? I'm the driver, and this is my car, therefore if I can't deal with the music, we're not listening to it. That means under NO circumstances, will there be any Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, or any other of those cheesy, disgusting singers or groups playing in my car. And if you spill any drinks in here, they'd better be cleaned up before they leave a stain. Okay?" Gordo said, almost militantly.

Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him and popped a Michelle Branch CD into the CD player. "Is this okay, Sergeant?" she teased. Gordo rolled his eyes. "It could be better, but it's tolerable," he said, trying to sound crabby. Miranda burst into laughter in the seat behind Lizzie. 

Lizzie and Miranda entertained Gordo with their singing skills for the first two hours or so of the trip, but after sitting in the car for that long, they grew tired of it. Lizzie sat quietly in the front passenger seat, staring out the window at the trees alongside the interstate. Miranda was stretched out across the back seat, trying to take a nap. Gordo hummed softly to himself as he drove. Every so often, he'd glance over at Lizzie and smile. 

She was absolutely beautiful. He often wondered what it would be like to have a romantic relationship with her. The truth was, he'd thought about it for years. But now, it would be too late to even say anything. They'd all be going their separate ways at the end of the summer, to different colleges in different states. Miranda was going to University of North Carolina, Lizzie was going to Michigan State, and Gordo was going to NYU. They would be spread out all over the country, barely even within the same time zone. 

Gordo sighed inwardly as he continued to drive. It was pointless, really. They'd all already mapped out their futures, and he knew it would be easier to leave the feelings alone. 'They'll go away eventually,' he reasoned. 'I hope.'

A/N: Review!


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